Aidan Hutchinson called contender to dethrone stud defender for top NFL award

The Detroit Lions have a budding superstar in Aidan Hutchinson, and the only thing the defensive end has yet to achieve in his young career is award recognition.

Arguably, had Hutchinson not broken his leg in Week 6 last year, he could have been in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year honors. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, but the chance exists for Hutchinson to pick up right where he left off in 2025.

There's a good possibility that Hutchinson could be a contender for some major awards this season, and already, he is being hyped as a contender to swipe the biggest honor a defender can earn. Pro Football Focus analyst Brent Sobleski cited him a player who could dethrone Patrick Surtain II as DPOY.

"Through five games, Hutchinson was a human wrecking ball, with 7.5 sacks, seven more tackles for loss and 17 quarterback hits. He led all edge-defenders with a 94.9 overall grade, albeit in a limited sample size, according to Pro Football Focus' Zoltan Buday."

"The injury isn't a huge a concern at this point, because Hutchinson could have possibly played had the Lions reached last season's Super Bowl. (Spoiler alert: They didn't.) He's also been "fully cleared" by medical personnel."

"A fully healthy Hutchinson for the entire 2025 season may see him claim some personal hardware. Patrick Surtain II won Defensive Player of the Year in his fourth season. Coincidentally, Hutchinson is now entering his fourth after being the second overall draft pick in 2022."

If Hutchinson enjoys the kind of start he did in 2024 and the Lions win games along the way, he will be a firm contender for DPOY honors. Hutchinson even looked like he could be a potential MVP with his play last season. There's simply no overlooking him at this point in time, especially given his healthy return.

Aidan Hutchinson confident in rediscovering his elite 2024 form

Coming into the 2025 season, arguably the biggest topic of conversation for the Lions revolves around whether Hutchinson can once again look like the stud he did early last year. Given injury recoveries are never certain, there has been some angst within the fanbase about that topic.

Hutchinson, however, is a firm believer in his ability to bounce back strong. He gained confidence early last season, and believes he can put that same effort back on the field once the games start to get even better thanks to excellent fundamentals.

"There's motivation not from it getting taken away, but me putting that on tape. I had a lot of growth in those first five games to where I feel I evolved as a player and things were clicking at a high level. I had a lot of thoughts at the time that were like, if I'm thinking about a golf swing, you have the good swing thoughts going on. I had good pass rush thoughts, good things going on and I feel like that's just going to carry over and I'm going to continue to build on that. I know a lot of people believe that my ceiling, but I still believe I'm going to continue to push for those greater heights. I'm still 24. I'm still a young dude. I don't think that's the peak."

There's a cautious optimism that Hutchinson can turn the corner and remain a star in the league for years to come. The quickest way to make everyone a believer in that would be to claim a few top league awards with another fantastic season of work.